Kinetic energy reconstruction with a single layer particle telescope

Abstract

We demonstrate the implementation of a low-mass, single-layer pixel detector as a multi-component telescope for measuring the kinetic energy of charged particles. Rather than relying on several separate detection layers, we utilize the detector's individual pixels as the basis for multiple sampling of the stopping power of a particle under a shallow incidence angle. We present results from a single layer device corresponding to nearly 50 telescope layers. As the measured dE/dx response is highly stochastic, we utilize a maximum likelihood approach for which we calculate a probability function in the energy domain for each interacting particle. Using accelerator data, we show the limitations of the single-component approach and the advantages of our single-layer, multiple-sampling technique. Inferred energy spectra from accelerators show high accuracy and precision for protons with kinetic energies up to 400 MeV. For higher energies, the low energy limit is still very accurate.